Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
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Anger
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Analytical
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Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Agreeableness
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After the king cools off he realizes what he has done.
How often do we make rash decisions?
Said things we almost immediately regret?
Decisions we wish we could take back?
I know king, lets have a royal beauty pageant!
We’ll gather all the beautiful young girls, (who cares if they want to participate or not).
We’ll bring them to the palace and put them up in your harem.
We’ll get them all dolled up and pretty.
Then you get to pick who you want to be your new queen.
Then you’ll forget all about that troublemaker Vashti!
Imagine that, having a group of beautiful young ladies paraded before him for his own pleasure, to be used until he finds the one he likes.
Sounds like it’s good to be the king.
But what is really going on here?
All the kings servants seem to care about is the outward appearance of these women.
They aren’t looking for wisdom or trustworthiness.
They aren’t looking for someone who is good, just someone who looks good.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She watches over the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many daughters have done well,
But you excel them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
The king’s advisors aren’t looking for this kind of woman, they are looking only skin deep.
And the king liked this idea.
It was the kings job to decide rightly how to proceed.
Instead, he listened to foolish advisors.
Do we look for advice that we like rather than that is wise?
Into our story enters Mordecai and Esther.
Mordecai is a Jew who was brought to Babylon when Jeconiah was captured and taken into captivity.
Mordecai is a decedent of Kish, the father of Israel’s first king, Saul.
Mordecai took the responsibility for his uncle’s daughter when her parents died.
Yes, this is what we expect from a family, to take care of each other, especially when times are rough.
Mordecai took Esther in and raised her as his own daughter.
Esther was a beautiful young lady, so guess what happened?
That’s right, Esther gets taken away to join the harem of young ladies for this royal beauty pageant.
Like Joseph, Esther’s beauty was more than skin deep.
She pleased Hegai the eunuch, obtained favor from him, so he gave her special treatment.
Esther was in a harem of beautiful women, so why did Hegai give her special treatment?
Could it be because her character stood out?
Could she be the virtuous wife described in Proverbs?
Just as Joseph was trusted by Potiphar and the jailer, and therefore given a special place, Esther is given maids and the best place to live.
Even in difficult times, those who follow God should stand out.
You may not be picked for special treatment, but you should shine because you love your Lord!
Why did Mordecai tell Esther not to reveal who she was?
We’ll find out later, but the answer is there were people in Babylon, and in the palace who did not like the Jews.
Remember, they were captured and brought to Babylon in chains.
Even though Esther had been taken away, Mordecai still watched out for her.
Although our children may grow up, a good parent still watches out for them.
Let the games begin!
After a year of preparation, each young lady got one chance to sleep with the king.
She got to choose what she would take with her.
After that, she joined the harem of the king’s concubines.
So this is a rather twisted beauty pageant.
Part beauty pageant, part forced prostitution ring with the young ladies competing to land their sugar daddy.
The consolation prize being life in a golden cage.
Come to think of it, this does sound like a season of “The Bachelor” taken to royal extremes!
This reminds me of the scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, when Indy has to choose the right cup to save his father’s life.
After making the choice, the knight said “You have chosen… wisely.”
With the favor of God, she has the wisdom to get advice from Hegai.
She was willing to listen to others, especially those with experience.
As opposed to the king, who seemed to listen to fools that tickled his ear.
Just as Hegai favored her, Ahasuerus favors her as well, falling in love with her.
What made Esther different than all the other virgins?
Could it be her relationship with God and how that effected how she acted?
Rather than the life of a concubine, Esther is now queen.
The scene changes, the virgins are gathered a second time.
Mordecai is still sitting within the king’s gate.
Probably listening to hear how Esther is doing.
Although queen, Esther still obeys the command of Mordecai.
Do we keep the promises we’ve made, even if we think the situation has changed?
We may not see the reason right away, but we’ll see over the next few weeks how Esther’s keeping of her promise to Mordecai will impact not only the Jews, but all of the Babylonian empire.
While at the gate, Mordecai hears of a plot against the king.
What is he to do? Mordecai is a nobody, a captive from Judah.
Who will listen to him?
Besides, what does Mordecai owe the king?
He tells Esther, who tells the king, giving credit to Mordecai.
After an investigation, the plot is uncovered, the plotters are hanged and the matter is recorded in the chronicles of the king.
This somewhat parenthetical story will also become important later on.
What can we see in this part of the story?
We should not look at people only skin deep, but look at their character.
Acting in a godly fashion may not make you rich, but it will make you holy.
And the world will notice.
They may not like it, but they will notice.
You may not be rewarded for your godly actions on earth, but our Father in Heaven always notices.
Even if you owe someone nothing, you should do the right thing before God.
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